


Minako Meddles! A Love Charm Mix Up Occurs

by AnxietyAvocado



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, No Sailor Senshi, Slow Burn, i honestly don't know so these tags will change but probably also fluff and shenanigans, i tagged f/f because unazuki is gonna have a girlfriend i just don't know who
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:28:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24950818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnxietyAvocado/pseuds/AnxietyAvocado
Summary: The Juban District has had its fair share of the weird and the wonderful, but nothing was more weird or wonderful than the eclectic little shop tucked between a coffeehouse and a music shop. Silver Millennium was part herbal, part witchy wonders, part bookstore, and all strange.
Relationships: Chiba Mamoru/Tsukino Usagi, Furuhata Motoki/Kino Makoto, Seiya Kou/Tsukino Usagi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sooooooo much of this is a work in progress! The title might change. The tags might change. Who even knows. Thought out plot? I don't know her.

The Juban District has had its fair share of the weird and the wonderful, but nothing was more weird or wonderful than the eclectic little shop tucked between a coffeehouse and a music shop. Silver Millennium was part herbal, part witchy wonders, part bookstore, and all strange. 

Everyone knew the girls that ran the shop. Over the years they had become staples in the community - weird ones, but staples nonetheless. There wasn’t a single high school girl who hadn’t gone to see Minako about her love charms or get their future told by Rei, and every gardener worth their garden mulch had had at least a few run ins with Makoto at the local gardening supply, and she was always happy to offer advice on growing herbs or flowers. Ami was the research legend both at the store and at the local university, and Usagi… Well, no one was quite clear what she did at the shop, but her artwork was second to none, and her custom tarot cards and art prints were best sellers. 

Tuesday morning dawned drizzly and grey, which delighted Ami and frustrated Makoto in equal turn - this was perfect “reading” weather, and less than perfect gardening weather in their minds. When it came to practical things like work, it meant fewer customers coming in to shop which wasn’t good for the bottom line, but for the most part the girls were more excited to be able to work on their own projects during that time, and that was exactly what started just a few short hours after the shop had opened. 

Ami was in the middle of reshelving books - although that was often sidetracked by her picking up the book in question and flipping through it - while Minako and Makoto were working in the backroom hanging and grinding herbs and flowers and Rei was… well, no one quite knew what Rei was doing, as she usually spent her time in a sectioned off part of the shop. Usagi sat at the counter doodling designs for a new set of tarot cards. No two sets were ever alike, and the latest set was very much lunar in theme. Silvery rays of moonlight stretched across the backs of the cards while roses and vines crept up the right side. Sometimes her designs were more cutesy in nature, with bunnies and cats, sometimes a little more art deco, and sometimes just… otherworldly. Stark landscapes with silvery ruins, endless fields underneath a sparkling sky and shooting stars. 

Just as she was sketching out a rose, the door swung open with such force that it slammed into the wall, causing Usagi’s pencil to jump and skid erratically over the card.  _ Shit _ . Biting her bottom lip, she reached for the eraser to correct the mistake. Ami was closer to the door anyway, she reasoned, so she was safe to keep working for a while. 

“Welcome to Silver Millenium,” she called our absentmindedly, going back to her sketching. If there was an answer, it was lost in the lo fi station she was playing from her phone near the register and it didn’t take long for her pulse to return to normal, the slammed door long forgotten. 

On days like this, most of the people who wandered into the shop came from the coffee shop next door, wandering through before braving the weather again. It generated a few sales here and there, but those were so few and far between that Usagi wasn’t inclined to jump right into “customer service” mode any time soon. Instead, she was so absorbed in her sketching, that she didn’t notice the mystery person weathering out the weather standing across the counter from her until a water drop landed in the middle of a ray of moonlight, watering her watercolor penciling far too soon. 

“Oh come on! What the hell?” Usagi jolted, rocking back on her seat. “Haven’t you ever heard of personal space?”

She looked up, another quip ready, but the words died in her throat as Usagi looked into dark eyes that, in a more coherent moment, she might have described as endless or darker than the darkest depths of space, or maybe like melted dark chocolate…  _ Oh great, now I’m hungry. And still staring at this guy. _

Once she proverbially zoomed out from the dark eyes she had been staring at, the rest of the man in question seemed to sharpen into focus. The offending water drop had come from the dark hair, wavy from the humidity and curling around his ears and neck, just long enough to be needing a bit of a haircut, and flopping over his forehead but not quite long enough to get in his eyes. There was a crescent shaped earring in one ear that she could see - was there a matching one? Usagi did her best to skim right past the smirk, unwilling to get sucked in to the thoughts that would inevitably follow, and instead took in his light pink shirt, gray scarf, and blue jacket that  _ definitely  _ didn’t look like it was meant for the wet weather outside. 

And then back to the smirk, and those dark eyes that looked like they were laughing at her. Oh, she hated guys like that, who did things that they knew were jerk moves and then laughed when they got a rise out of a girl - not to mention, that they usually had a smartass remark about  _ getting a rise  _ out of a girl. 

Steeling herself, Usagi took a deep breath and looked into those (stupidly mesmerizing) eyes again. “Personal space. You know, it’s this thing that most people respect?”

The huff of breath that he let out smelled like coffee, which made sense when you thought about the fact that there was a coffee cup from next door in his hand. “Yeah, well  _ most  _ people aren’t faced with a pretty girl like yourself, Bunhead. Excuse me for being… distracted.”

The nickname made her bristle. Only one other person ever called her that, and  _ that person  _ was not allowed to be named within the confines of the shop. Whenever she was called that, it brought to mind years of sniping and arguments and throwing test papers and shoes and even a full soda cup or two. When she heard it this time it was irritating, sure, but not as much - and at the same time it made her stomach flutter just slightly. 

Usagi picked up the card she had been sketching on and turned it around so he should see her ruined artwork. 

“You break it you buy it,” she retorted, passing right by the comment about him being distracted as if it was never said. “And next time you’d better watch where you’re dripping.”

He laughed. “Next time? You inviting me back already, Bunhead?”

Oh, he was infuriating! Usagi flushed all the way from her collarbones to the tips of her ears, the blush creeping up toward her hairline. “That’s not what I meant and you know it!”

“Well how about this.”  _ Mystery Man _ , as Usagi was resolved to call him, plucked the card out of her fingers and laid it down on the table, face up. “You tell me what this card means, and I’ll buy the deck. Name your price.”

That was… more fair than she had expected. Usually, the customers - at least the ones that weren’t serious about tarot or anything else in the shop - liked to argue with her about how much the decks or her other artwork cost. Naming the card and her cost seemed easy, at least, not to mention the shop really needed a sale on a day like today. 

“Fine,” she huffed. “The card is The Fool.”

At this, she looked at him pointedly, as if to say  _ Which you should recognize, since you’re acting like one. _

“Normally it means there are new beginnings on the horizon, and represents innocence and a free spirit. But the way it’s sitting now is reversed, with the head of the Fool facing away from me, since I would be the card reader in this scenario. In that position, it means inconsideration” - another thing he should be familiar with - “and being taken advantage of, as well as recklessness.

And as for the price, that’ll be 5500 yen.”

Mystery Man didn’t argue or even blink at the price. With a sly smile, he pulled out his wallet and placed some bills on the counter, with a business card on top of them. “For the cards, and consider the rest of it compensation for emotional distress. When the deck is done you can send them to the address on the card. See you around, Bunhead.”

After plucking a business card out of the holder next to the register, he was gone before Usagi could even tell him not to call her that. Taking the card in hand, she looked it over carefully. There was an address in the business district with a phone and fax number (who even used fax machines anymore?) and an email. On the other side of the card was a name. Seiya Kou. Just the name, with no title. 

“See you around, I guess,” she muttered. 


	2. Chapter 2

“Hey Usa, what day is it?” Mina’s voice rang out from the back room where she was making her charm bags. 

The blonde in question scowled from her position on top of a step ladder, dusting and rearranging the shelf of crystals just behind the register. “Why can’t you look at your phone? Or get a smartwatch or something?” she shot back. 

Mina didn’t answer her, but Usagi could swear that she felt the smug satisfaction emanating from the back room. Her blonde friend always got her way, and eventually Usagi sighed and got off the step stool before reaching for her phone. 

“It’s Thursday. Got a hot date or something?” Knowing Mina, that was almost a certainty. 

Apparently that wasn’t the answer the other girl was looking for, because a white stuffed cat came flying out of the back room and hit her between the buns in the back of her head. “What the hell, Mina! Artemis deserves better than that, and you know it! And you could have hit the crystals!”

Usagi picked up the plushie cat off the floor and cradled it in her arms, gently scratching its head. The white cat, and its black counterpart Luna, were the shop’s mascots of sorts, usually being tossed between the girls or being placed on random bookshelves as they saw fit. When they were taken home, Artemis usually lived on Minako’s bookshelf, and Luna on one of the handful of pillows on Usagi’s bed.

Minako Aino, resident love charm extraordinaire, flounced up the front counter. Mina was the type of girl to flounce, strut, or sashay pretty much anywhere, audience or no. As the self proclaimed Goddess of Love in residence, she was a force to be reckoned with and had a killer throwing arm to boot. 

“What day is it  _ on the calendar,  _ Usagi,” she said flatly, flipping her hair over her shoulder. 

“It’s June 20th. Why, what’s up?”

Leaning on the counter with her elbows, chin propped up in the palm of her hands, Mina grinned at her. “Well, I  _ do  _ have a date tonight. Want to help me get ready beforehand, roomie? 

But anyway, summer break for the schools starts soon! And you know what that means,” Mina wiggled her eyebrow. “Confession season is just around the corner! We’re sure to get more business in the coming weeks! Makoto and I have been working sooo hard to collect and dry jasmine and rosebud, and I just got a shipment of rose quartz too!”

From behind a vase of roses came a voice. “Well, we’d be more prepared if you would get back there and keep helping me.”

“Mako, I need a break! I’m tired of getting stabbed with thorns,” Mina whined. “Can’t we chill for like, five minutes? Shut down and go get a coffee? School isn’t even out yet so it’s not like we’ll be missing a whole bunch of business.”

Makoto was more no-nonsense than the blondes, preferring to focus on work during those hours and saving the fun for when they weren’t on the clock. She was definitely the Mom Friend of the group, making sure people were eating real meals and not just baked goods from the coffee shop, keeping them on a schedule and insisting they do silly things like write down the hours they all worked, and glaring at whoever wasn’t drinking enough water that day. Setting the vase of flowers down on the counter, she crossed her arms and looked Minako up and down before shaking her head. 

“If it was up to you we’d always be sneaking off instead of staying open!” she said, rolling her eyes. “Now why don’t you go set these flowers up over by your little love shack and then we can get a  _ quick _ coffee before the after school rush. Fifteen minutes tops!” The last few words were totally lost on Mina, who squealed with delight before running off with the flowers. 

While Usagi grabbed the keys to lock up and Mina wrote out a sign to post on the door, Mako sent a message in the group chat letting the other two girls know where they would be. Rei was working at the Shrine and usually stopped by on those days, even just to hang out, and Ami would be in after her university classes were done for the day. 

The coffee shop next door was bustling, but at least the line wasn’t out the door today. The Furuhata siblings were known for their coffee art, so there were days that the girls had to beat the hipster rush just to get their fix in time. 

While they were standing in line, Usagi leaned over to whisper to Mina. “I think the only reason Mako agreed to a coffee break is because Motoki is working this afternoon.”

“I heard that,” Mako hissed. 

“How do you think she does that without even moving her mouth?” Mina stage whispered back to Usagi, grinning like a fiend. It was one of their favorite pastimes to give Mako hell about Motoki, just like the girls liked to bug Usagi about  _ He Who Irritated All Females _ ,  _ But Mostly Usagi _ . (It wasn’t the best nickname, but it was better than the trademarked version from that movie series)

They kept it up until they were at the front of the line, and Mina and Usagi placed their orders as quickly as they could, leaving Mako to chat with Motoki while they loitered by the pickup counter watching Unazuki work her latte magic. The pair talked about the latest Bachelor Japan episode, their dinner plans (Mina had her date, which meant that Usagi was going to be left with instant ramen, probably) the new Kit Kat flavor coming out, and inane nonsense, but were interrupted by the snapping of a book being shut behind them. 

“Are you two always this loud, or did you forget to wear earplugs to a concert?” The pained voice coming from behind them was familiar… too familiar. It made Usagi feel like someone had taken a cheese grater to her eardrums, and the hairs on the back of her neck rose as she turned around stiffly. 

It was  _ him. _

“Chiba,” she ground out, glaring at him. “Don’t tell me, someone accidentally gave you decaf today, so you’re taking your mood out on innocent young women who have the misfortune of being unable to ignore your existence.”

“There’s not enough caffeine in the world to prepare  _ anyone  _ for the chaos you cause, Bunhead.”

“How many times have I told you  _ not to call me that! _ ”

“I don’t know - you seem to think I can’t understand you unless you’re physically assaulting me as well. Maybe try again while throwing your muffin?” That helpful tone and innocent look on his face made Usagi flush with anger - something she was sure he did on purpose.

“As if I would  _ ever  _ disrespect baked goods like that!” Usagi screeched. “Clearly you have no respect for the good things in life, Mamoru-baka, if you think that I’m going to throw snack food at you!”

Minako watched this exchange with wide eyes and the usual amused expression. In the Juban district, Usagi Tsukino and Mamoru Chiba had…. A reputation, you might call it. They clashed like oil and water, peanut butter and pickles, pizza and pineapple. And any time they were in the same place without a buffer like her group of friends or, as Usagi called them, ‘one of the poor saps Chiba had suckered into pretending to like him’, there were always sparks. 

Sometimes those sparks resulted in an inferno, which usually resulted in them being banned from several locations around their home district. The only reason they weren’t banned from this particular coffeeshop was that Motoki was too nice, and could claim mutual friendship with both of them. Only he, who regularly swore that they were individually very nice people, could manage to diffuse the situation when they ran into each other. 

Luckily the situation was saved by both of the Furuhatas - Unazuki with Usagi’s very large, very pink frappucino-like drink, and Motoki with yet another black coffee for Mamoru. 

“Alright, alright you two,” Motoki interrupted goodnaturedly, “You know the rules. If you can’t say something nice, don’t say it at all. Usagi, I threw in an extra few cookies for you with your order. I know you girls need your energy.” He winked, but it wasn’t flirtatious. If anything, Motoki was like her older brother, always looking out for her and her friends. 

Mamoru grumbled something, and Usagi’s beaming at Motoki was interrupted by it. All she could hear was the word  _ sharing  _ but it was enough to have her face turning pink and her shoulders up around her ears in tense frustration. 

“Say that to my face, baka!” she fumed. 

Standing up (with more grace than Usagi thought was fair), Mamoru gathered his things and the fresh coffee before standing in front of Usagi. 

“I’d love to,” he said sweetly, “But it seems that I can’t from up here. Maybe one day you’ll rise to my level and we can have that conversation, alright Bunhead? But until then, have fun scamming high schoolers with your love trinkets.”

A short joke? _Seriously?_ He was out the door before she could reply, and Usagi spent the rest of the afternoon in the back room with Mokoto, viciously slicing thorns off of roses, and evening sharpening the ends of a few, imagining that she was using them as darts and Mamoru Chiba’s stupid face was the target board.


	3. Chapter 3

Thursday was indeed date night, and Usagi was indeed left with nothing but instant ramen in the pantry and a half-melted homemade milkshake. Normally, she didn’t mind Minako’s date nights. Her friend never brought dates over unless she knew Usagi would be gone, she almost always picked up dessert on the way home if she  _ was  _ coming home, and Usagi usually enjoyed having the living room to herself to blast whatever music she felt like and sing or dance along, or the ability to make a blanket castle and read manga until she fell asleep in a nest of pillows. 

To any single girl in her twenties, that was the dream right? (It wasn't. Minako was the one living the dream, going out practically every night of the week and making heads turn wherever she went. But blanket castles weren't so bad, right? Right?)

On this night, though, the dream seemed more like a nightmare. Nothing bad actually happened. Usagi ordered take out after she ate the ramen, and slurped on her milkshake while she waited for her fried chicken to arrive. The blanket castle was ready to go, Luna perched in a corner to keep an eye on Usagi, and the fluffiest pillows in the house (barring Mina’s room) were gathered in a nest. 

So why wasn’t it perfect?

Usagi could only assume that it had something to do with her mysterious customer - Seiya, she reminded herself. His name was Seiya - and her run in with stupid Chiba later in the week, but probably more Seiya since she always ran into Chiba and he always made her feel like she was back in high school and being ridiculed for her hair or her manga or her habits. 

She had finished the cards on Wednesday and sent them off, not knowing how long it would take for them to make it through the mail system. If anything, Makoto or Rei would know, but asking them seemed like an easy way to invite more curiosity than she wanted. Right now, Usagi wanted to keep this to herself. It was nice, holding a secret like that close. 

That was how she ended up spending the rest of the night googling Seiya Kou in between episodes of Maid-Sama (why, why, WHY wouldn’t there ever be another season? It was so not fair) and getting fried chicken grease all over her phone screen in the process. There was nothing on the guy - not even a Twitter or Instagram account. Not even a LINE! That just made it weirder. 

That weirdness was still running through her head when she dozed off in her blanket castle.

* * *

For the next week, the girls were up to their eyeballs in work as high schoolers from all over - and outside - Juban came for love charms and magical pick-me-ups. Ami and Usagi didn’t have much to do with the actual making or selling of charms, and spent most of their time behind the register, writing out receipts or chatting with customers throughout the afternoons. As Ami was already done with her finals, she was able to spend all day with the girls - whenever she wasn’t sorting or reorganizing their book section at least. It was nice to sit and catch up with her friend, even if Usagi didn’t understand even half of what Ami talked about when asked about school. There was something about cadavers (eww) and volunteering at hospitals (less but also eww) and a series of lectures that she found fascinating but nearly put Usagi to sleep listening to. Through it all, Ami beamed and gushed about her TAs, and how incredibly helpful they were. In her rush to get the words out, she nearly tripped over the sentences and sped past more names than Usagi could keep track of, but Usagi was willing to bet they were fantastic human beings if Ami looked up to them so much. 

“You’re not going to believe the work she’s done, Usagi! I mean, her field of expertise isn’t actually medicine, but the things she comes up with! This woman is a genius, and there’s practically a waiting list for her office hours, because you know that whatever feedback she gives you is going to be excellent…

...he’s so helpful! I can’t tell you the number of times his hours have been interrupted by underclassmen just looking for advice. He’s going to be a great doctor, I just know it. If we get to work at the same hospital I would be so honored. And he’s exactly the kind of man that my mother would just love, which is a problem if they  _ meet _ but until then…

Just listening to the two of them talk- I can’t tell you how incredibly  _ average  _ I feel next to them. The way they see and process things is just extraordinary, and I honestly aspire to be that insightful by the time I reach my graduate or post-graduate levels.”

Although she had been zoning out for most of the conversation (letting Ami ramble about academics was something more up Rei or Makoto’s alley - Usagi loved her friend, really, she just didn’t understand most of what she talked about) Usagi perked up at that last part. 

She narrowed her eyes at Ami before saying, “What do you mean by the time you reach that? Ami, you’re already a genius! An actual, certified, nationally approved or whatever brain. There is absolutely no one more nerdy or more smart or more wonderful than you.”

With a triumphant smile, Usagi turned toward the register to check out the next customer, and considered the topic closed for the day. Sometimes it seemed like Ami would never learn just how smart she actually was - which was a shame, since even Usagi could figure that out and she wasn’t even  _ close  _ to being a genius. 

From across the room, Makoto and Rei stood together, arms crossed, as they watched the pair at checkout. 

“Do you think she caught the name?” Makoto murmured. 

Rei, for her part, nearly snorted when she laughed. “Are you kidding? Usagi spaces out at the first sign of medical speak, we both know she doesn’t have any clue who Ami is talking about.”

With a chuckle, both girls went back to their work, so immersed in their tasks that neither one of them heard the door open as Seiya Kou walked in. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more than any ship in the world, more than seiyusa, more than usamamo, more than even usagi x food, i think i love usagi and blanket castles. 
> 
> by the way, did you see the designs that ikea released? usagi definitely builds castles, not forts. 
> 
> feedback/kudos/comments/shares are loved and appreciated. find me on tumblr at akitoes and bug me if you wanna


End file.
